Electroformation of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles from Damp Lipid Films Formed by Vesicle Fusion.

ABSTRACT: Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are artificial membrane models which are of special interest to researchers because of their similarity in size to eukaryotic cells. The most commonly used method for GUVs production is electroformation. However, the traditional electroformation protocol involves a step in which the organic solvent is completely evaporated, leaving behind a dry lipid film. This leads to artifactual demixing of cholesterol (Chol) in the form of anhydrous crystals. These crystals do not participate in the formation of the lipid bilayer, resulting in a decrease of Chol concentration in the bilayer compared to the initial lipid solution. We propose a novel electroformation protocol which addresses this issue by combining the rapid solvent exchange, plasma cleaning and spin-coa

SUBMITTER: Boban Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10059949 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature